Conventional axial fans such as propeller fans normally have a fan housing which either fully or partially encloses the fan blade tips. Such fans are commonly used in HVAC applications such as condensing units. In these applications the fan basically blows air through a flow resistance such as a condenser coil. When such a fan is used in the condenser side of an air conditioning system, the fan usually has condensate slinger structure associated therewith such that collected condensate is slung into the fan flow and onto the condenser coil. Problems associated with axial fans having conventional housings include: rotational/irregular flow in the region enclosed by the housing and coil which interacts with the blade tips thereby generating noise; turbulent flow leaking into the blade passage and generating noise; and inefficient distribution of air to the coil due to turbulent/rotational flow.